CEQ wields power over several key environmental laws. It oversees the implementation and interpretation of NEPA, the cornerstone of environmental protection. NEPA — the National Environmental Policy Act — requires federal agencies to assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of certain projects. For example, a new interstate would trigger an NEPA review, as would opening public lands to energy drilling.

CEQ also develops and recommends national policies to the president that promote the improvement of environmental quality.

E&E News quoted energy lobbyist Mike McKenna as saying, “Don is a well-thought-of name by people who matter in the administration.”

In what’s likely a promising sign to some conservatives, van der Vaart appears willing to review EPA’s endangerment finding on greenhouse gases, an anthology of climate science that forms the legal justification for regulating heat-trapping emissions. He argued that the finding should be constantly updated as science progresses — E&E News

Van der Vaart has a long history of opposing tighter environmental regulations. As DEQ Secretary, his vision for the department was to be more “business- and customer-friendly,” meaning that those interests often trumped environmental protection. In November 2016, after Donald Trump was elected president, van der Vaart sent him a letter calling for the disbandment of the EPA — a view Trump also shared. Van der Vaart subsequently made the short list of nominees to be deputy administrator to Scott Pruitt, a position that later went to Andrew Wheeler, whom Pruitt knew from their time in Oklahoma. (Pruitt was attorney general; Wheeler worked for US Sen. Jim Inhofe.)

Van der Vaart, who is skeptical of humankind’s role in climate change, had worked in the Division of Air Quality. He then served under Gov. Pat McCrory for two years. A political appointee, van der Vaart then demoted himself back to an air quality post in order to protect himself from being fired when Roy Cooper became governor.

Van der Vaart resigned from DEQ last November after current Secretary Michael Regan placed him on investigative leave. Van der Vaart had co-written an opinion piece in a national environmental law journal supporting the rollback of a key air quality rule — which conflicted with the current administration’s view — and he had accepted a position on the EPA’s Science Advisory Board. After EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt essentially cleared the SAB decks of independent scientists, he filled it with industry representatives and conservative state regulators, like van der Vaart.

While he has the support of several key allies, van der Vaart has not officially been nominated. The Trump administration is still stinging from the failed nomination of Kathleen Hartnett White. The former head of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, she had made several controversial comments about climate change and carbon dioxide. The Trump administration withdrew her nomination earlier this month.

Now van der Vaart could achieve one of his career goals. E&E News quoted him as saying, “It would be a thrill for somebody like me who’s been in this field for a long time.”

Following this week’s horrendous school shooting in Parkland, Fla., N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore says he will launch a committee tasked with making recommendations for improving school safety.

According to WRAL, Moore said he will announce the committee’s membership at a press conference next week in Shelby.

More from WRAL:

The bipartisan House Select Committee on School Safety will examine current safety standards and procedures in North Carolina’s elementary, middle and high schools and make recommendations on “statutory and non-statutory changes to ensure the highest level of safety for North Carolina students, teachers and other school personnel,” Joseph Kyzer said in an email to WRAL News.

The email came in response to questions WRAL News sent to members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation and state political leaders about what actions needed to be taken to limit the number of mass shootings in the U.S.

“The committee will seek information from experts in the fields of education, law enforcement, mental health and crisis management and consult with local governments and school systems on procedures that have proven effective in ensuring safety in our schools,” Kyzer said.

…

Last month, another state legislative committee reviewed improvements to school security that have taken place across the state in recent years and discussed technology that could upgrade security further.

Some lawmakers suggested allowing school personnel to carry concealed guns on campus. North Carolina law permits only law enforcement officers to carry firearms at schools. All other weapons must be inside locked vehicles.

On a sultry day last September, Megan Stilley arrived at Lanier Farms, a large swine operation in rural Jones County. An environmental specialist with the state’s Division of Water Resources, Stilley investigates complaints of illegal spills and other environmental violations. The people responsible are rarely glad to see her.

Shortly before noon, Doug Lanier and two of his farmhands met Stilley at the site. He was upset that news of his farm’s illegal discharge the day prior into the Trent River — eventually determined to be 1 million gallons of feces-laden wastewater — had been posted on Facebook by a local TV station.

A terse verbal exchange ensued. “At that point,” Stilley later wrote in her inspection notes, “I felt uncomfortable being there alone.”[Read more…]

An omnibus bill alleviating some of the headaches associated with North Carolina’s class size crisis easily passed the state House by a 104-12 margin Tuesday, despite continuing opposition from top Democrats on its controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Board of Elections provisions.

Rep. Craig Horn, a Union County Republican who helped to assemble last week’s compromise conference report on House Bill 90, said the bill gives districts “much requested” time to prepare for the state’s new K-3 class sizes by phasing in its caps on average and maximum class size over the next four years.

The legislation, which also creates a $61 million recurring funding allocation for arts, music and physical education teachers, comes after years of mounting pressure on the Republican-dominated General Assembly to either ease their 2016 class size mandate or provide additional funding to save those so-called “enhancement” teaching positions. [Read more…]

Lawmakers late last week released two new versions of a judicial redistricting bill, making these the eighth and ninth maps released since last summer.

The two new maps, dubbed “Option B” and “Option C” are nearly identical with the only change made to district lines in Durham County.

The maps differ from “Option A,” the proposal released a little over two weeks ago, in all of the larger metropolitan counties and in the two districts encompassing Union, Anson, Richmond, Scotland and Robeson counties.

Lawmakers also added several district court judges, subtracted a few, and added one superior court judge in the new proposals. [Read more…]

In the complex world of modern politics, it’s easy to imagine scenarios in which difficult compromises must be made. Sometimes, the circumstances are such that there simply isn’t any way for elected leaders to proceed without making multiple accommodations to multiple parties.

Hence, among other things, the distasteful but sometimes necessary phenomenon of the so-called “Christmas Tree” bill that is packed with all kinds of disparate provisions that have only one thing in common: they’re necessary to secure the votes of enough lawmakers to get essential underlying provisions passed into law. Such bills may often go too far and be fraught with problems, but at least they’re typically driven by a spirit of pragmatism and negotiation. [Read more…]

Students, faculty and staff at UNC continue to protest the Chapel Hill campus’ Confederate monument, “Silent Sam.” The North Carolina Historical Commission continues to grapple with whether it can legally remove the statue.

When the General Assembly reconvenes in mid-May, a group of Democratic state lawmakers say they’ll attempt what might be the impossible: a compromise solution.

“There certainly are not the votes in the General Assembly to remove it from campus,” said N.C. Rep. Verla Insko (D-Orange). “We’re working on a bill to move it inside somewhere – somewhere it can be safe and there won’t be the confrontations over it.”

Insko suggests the campus’ Wilson Library or Ackland Art Museum might be good locations – places the statue could still be available to the public and a reminder of the history it represents, but not in its current place at the entrance to the campus. [Read more...]

Lawmakers have said they won’t be back until May to take up judicial redistricting, but dropped two new maps before adjourning a special session this week.

The maps this time were released with incumbency information, but not without errors. NC Policy Watch analyzed the information (again) and found that there are more judges double-bunked in the new proposals (Options B and C) than in the Option A map that was dropped two weeks prior.

You can read about the analyses here. The list of double-bunked judges in Options B and C in the district court and superior court maps can be found below. You can read all about the Option A maps here.

It should be noted, as before in other stories, “double-bunking” for the purposes of this data means that there are a smaller number of seats in a judicial district than there are current sitting judges. That means incumbent judges in those areas would either be forced to run against another incumbent in an election or face losing their seat if their term expires after the seats are filled.

District Court Double Bunkings - Option B - Feb 2018

There are 53 African American judges out of 269 total judges, according to Jan. 25 AOC info. There are 17 African American judges double-bunked in these proposed maps.
This information is based on the North Carolina voter registration database.

District

County(s)

Name

Race

Gender

Party

Term Expiration

1

Gates, Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Camden, Currituck, Dare

Meader Harris

White

Male

Republican

2018

1

Gates, Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Camden, Currituck, Dare

Eula Reid

African-American

Female

Democrat

2018

1

Gates, Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Camden, Currituck, Dare

Amber Malarney

White

Female

Democrat

2020

1

Gates, Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Camden, Currituck, Dare

Edgar Barnes

White

Male

Democrat

2020

1

Gates, Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Camden, Currituck, Dare

Robert Trivette

White

Male

Democrat

2018

2

Martin, Beaufort, Washington, Tyrrell, Hyde

Darrell Cayton

White

Male

Unaffiliated

2018

2

Martin, Beaufort, Washington, Tyrrell, Hyde

Michael Paul

White

Male

Democrat

2020

2

Martin, Beaufort, Washington, Tyrrell, Hyde

Regina Parker

African-American

Female

Democrat

2018

2

Martin, Beaufort, Washington, Tyrrell, Hyde

Christopher McLendon

White

Male

Democrat

2020

10D

Wake

Keith Gregory

African-American

Male

Democrat

2018

10D

Wake

Ned Mangum

White

Male

Republican

2018

10D

Wake

Jefferson Glenn Griffin

White

Male

Republican

2020

10D

Wake

Margaret Eagles

White

Female

Democrat

2018

10D

Wake

Debra Sasser

White

Female

Democrat

2020

10D

Wake

Lori Christian

African-American

Female

Democrat

2020

10D

Wake

Monica Bousman

White

Female

Democrat

2020

12C

New Hanover

Robin Wicks Robinson

White

Female

Democrat

2020

12C

New Hanover

J. H. Corpening II

White

Male

Democrat

2020

12C

New Hanover

Melinda Haynie Crouch

White

Female

Democrat

2018

12C

New Hanover

Jeffery Evan Noecker

White

Male

Democrat

2020

12C

New Hanover

Richard Russel Davis

White

Male

Democrat

2020

15B

Cumberland

Edward Pone

African-American

Male

Democrat

2020

15B

Cumberland

Cheri Siler-Mack

African-American

Female

Democrat

2018

15B

Cumberland

Talmage Baggett

White

Male

Democrat

2018

15B

Cumberland

Luis Olivera

Hispanic

Male

Republican

2020

15D

Cumberland

April M. Smith

African-American

Female

Democrat

2018

15D

Cumberland

Stephen Stokes

African-American

Male

Democrat

2018

15D

Cumberland

Robert Steihl III

White

Male

Democrat

2018

16

Hoke, Moore

Jayrene R. Maness

White

Female

Republican

2018

15D

Cumberland

David Hasty

White

Male

Democrat

2018

16

Hoke, Moore

Don W. Creed Jr.

White

Male

Republican

2020

16

Hoke, Moore

Stephen Anthony Bibey

White

Male

Republican

2018

16

Hoke, Moore

Michael A. Stone

White

Male

Republican

2020

16

Hoke, Moore

Regina M. Joe

Black

Female

Democrat

2018

18A

Durham

James T. Hill

White

Male

Republican

2018

18A

Durham

Doretta L. Walker

African-American

Female

Democrat

2018

18A

Durham

Frederick S. Battaglia Jr

White

Male

Democrat

2018

18C

Durham

Patricia Evans

African-American

Female

Democrat

2018

18C

Durham

Amanda Maris

White

Female

Democrat

2018

18C

Durham

Shamieka Rhinehart

African-American

Female

Democrat

2020

22C

Guilford

Susan R. Burch

White

Female

Democrat

2020

22C

Guilford

Betty Brown

White

Female

Republican

2020

22C

Guilford

Angela Bullard Fox

White

Female

Democrat

2020

22C

Guilford

Tonia Cutchin

African-American

Female

Democrat

2020

22D

Guilford

Mark Timothy Cummings

African-American

Male

Democrat

2020

22D

Guilford

Angela Cheryl Foster

African-American

Female

Democrat

2020

22D

Guilford

Lora C. Cubbage

African-American

Female

Democrat

2020

22D

Guilford

Jonathan Kreider

White

Male

Republican

2018

26A

Mecklenburg

Ronald L. Chapman

White

Male

Democrat

2020

26A

Mecklenburg

Regan Anthony Miller

African-American

Male

Democrat

2018

26A

Mecklenburg

Christy T. Mann

White

Female

Democrat

2020

26A

Mecklenburg

Paige B. McThenia

White

Female

Democrat

2018

30A

Forsyth

David Edward Sipprell

White

Male

Republican

2020

30A

Forsyth

Lawrence J. Fine

White

Male

Democrat

2020

30A

Forsyth

George A. Bedsworth

White

Male

Democrat

2018

30A

Forsyth

Theodoros Kazakos

White

Male

Republican

2018

30A

Forsyth

Laurie Hutchins

White

Female

Republican

2020

30A

Forsyth

Carrie Vickery

White

Female

Democrat

2020

30A

Forsyth

Victoria Roemer

White

Female

Republican

2020

Superior Court Double Bunkings - Option B - Feb 2018

There are 18 African American judges out of 95 total judges, according to Jan. 25 AOC info. There are six African American judges double-bunked in these proposed maps.
This information is based on the North Carolina voter registration database.

District

County(s)

Name

Race

Gender

Party

Term Expiration

12C

New Hanover

Phyllis Gorham

African-American

Female

Democrat

2024

12C

New Hanover

Jay Hockenbury

White

Male

Republican

2018

15D

Cumberland

Mary Ann Tally

White

Female

Democrat

2018

15D

Cumberland

Claire Hill

White

Female

Unaffiliated

2018

15D

Cumberland

James Ammons Jr.

White

Male

Unaffiliated

2018

18B

Durham

Elaine O'Neal

African-American

Female

Democrat

2018

18B

Durham

Michael O’Foghludha

White

Male

Democrat

2018

19

Orange

Carl Fox

African-American

Male

Democrat

2022

19

Orange

R. Allen Baddour

White

Male

Democrat

2022

21

Rockingham, Caswell

Stanley Allen

White

Male

Democrat

2022

21

Rockingham, Caswell

Edwin Wilson

White

Male

Democrat

2022

21

Rockingham, Caswell

William O. Smith III

White

Male

Democrat

2018

22C

Guilford

Lindsay Davis

White

Male

Democrat

2018

22C

Guilford

Susan Bray

White

Female

Unaffiliated

2020

24

Union, Anson, Richmond, Scotland

Christopher Bragg

White

Male

Republican

2018

24

Union, Anson, Richmond, Scotland

Jeffery Carpenter

White

Male

Republican

2024

24

Union, Anson, Richmond, Scotland

Richard Brown

White

Male

Democrat

2024

24

Union, Anson, Richmond, Scotland

Tanya Wallace

White

Female

Democrat

2024

26E

Mecklenburg

Lisa Bell

White

Female

Republican

2022

26E

Mecklenburg

Donnie Hoover

African-American

Male

Democrat

2020

26F

Mecklenburg

Carla Archie

African-American

Female

Democrat

2022

26F

Mecklenburg

Karen Eady-Williams

African-American

Female

Democrat

2020

District Court Double Bunkings - Option C - Feb 2018

There are 53 African American judges out of 269 total judges, according to Jan. 25 AOC info. There are 15 African American judges double-bunked in these proposed maps.
This information is based on the North Carolina voter registration database.

District

County(s)

Name

Race

Gender

Party

Term Expiration

1

Gates, Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Camden, Currituck, Dare

Meader Harris

White

Male

Republican

2018

1

Gates, Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Camden, Currituck, Dare

Eula Reid

African-American

Female

Democrat

2018

1

Gates, Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Camden, Currituck, Dare

Amber Malarney

White

Female

Democrat

2020

1

Gates, Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Camden, Currituck, Dare

Edgar Barnes

White

Male

Democrat

2020

1

Gates, Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Camden, Currituck, Dare

Robert Trivette

White

Male

Democrat

2018

2

Martin, Beaufort, Washington, Tyrrell, Hyde

Darrell Cayton

White

Male

Unaffiliated

2018

2

Martin, Beaufort, Washington, Tyrrell, Hyde

Michael Paul

White

Male

Democrat

2020

2

Martin, Beaufort, Washington, Tyrrell, Hyde

Regina Parker

African-American

Female

Democrat

2018

2

Martin, Beaufort, Washington, Tyrrell, Hyde

Christopher McLendon

White

Male

Democrat

2020

10D

Wake

Keith Gregory

African-American

Male

Democrat

2018

10D

Wake

Ned Mangum

White

Male

Republican

2018

10D

Wake

Jefferson Glenn Griffin

White

Male

Republican

2020

10D

Wake

Margaret Eagles

White

Female

Democrat

2018

10D

Wake

Debra Sasser

White

Female

Democrat

2020

10D

Wake

Lori Christian

African-American

Female

Democrat

2020

10D

Wake

Monica Bousman

White

Female

Democrat

2020

12C

New Hanover

Robin Wicks Robinson

White

Female

Democrat

2020

12C

New Hanover

J. H. Corpening II

White

Male

Democrat

2020

12C

New Hanover

Melinda Haynie Crouch

White

Female

Democrat

2018

12C

New Hanover

Jeffery Evan Noecker

White

Male

Democrat

2020

12C

New Hanover

Richard Russel Davis

White

Male

Democrat

2020

15B

Cumberland

Edward Pone

African-American

Male

Democrat

2020

15B

Cumberland

Cheri Siler-Mack

African-American

Female

Democrat

2018

15B

Cumberland

Talmage Baggett

White

Male

Democrat

2018

15B

Cumberland

Luis Olivera

Hispanic

Male

Republican

2020

15D

Cumberland

April M. Smith

African-American

Female

Democrat

2018

15D

Cumberland

Stephen Stokes

African-American

Male

Democrat

2018

15D

Cumberland

Robert Steihl III

White

Male

Democrat

2018

16

Hoke, Moore

Jayrene R. Maness

White

Female

Republican

2018

15D

Cumberland

David Hasty

White

Male

Democrat

2018

16

Hoke, Moore

Don W. Creed Jr.

White

Male

Republican

2020

16

Hoke, Moore

Stephen Anthony Bibey

White

Male

Republican

2018

16

Hoke, Moore

Michael A. Stone

White

Male

Republican

2020

16

Hoke, Moore

Regina M. Joe

Black

Female

Democrat

2018

18A

Durham

James T. Hill

White

Male

Republican

2018

18A

Durham

Doretta L. Walker

African-American

Female

Democrat

2018

18A

Durham

Frederick S. Battaglia Jr

White

Male

Democrat

2018

22C

Guilford

Susan R. Burch

White

Female

Democrat

2020

22C

Guilford

Betty Brown

White

Female

Republican

2020

22C

Guilford

Angela Bullard Fox

White

Female

Democrat

2020

22C

Guilford

Tonia Cutchin

African-American

Female

Democrat

2020

22D

Guilford

Mark Timothy Cummings

African-American

Male

Democrat

2020

22D

Guilford

Angela Cheryl Foster

African-American

Female

Democrat

2020

22D

Guilford

Lora C. Cubbage

African-American

Female

Democrat

2020

22D

Guilford

Jonathan Kreider

White

Male

Republican

2018

26A

Mecklenburg

Ronald L. Chapman

White

Male

Democrat

2020

26A

Mecklenburg

Regan Anthony Miller

African-American

Male

Democrat

2018

26A

Mecklenburg

Christy T. Mann

White

Female

Democrat

2020

26A

Mecklenburg

Paige B. McThenia

White

Female

Democrat

2018

30A

Forsyth

David Edward Sipprell

White

Male

Republican

2020

30A

Forsyth

Lawrence J. Fine

White

Male

Democrat

2020

30A

Forsyth

George A. Bedsworth

White

Male

Democrat

2018

30A

Forsyth

Theodoros Kazakos

White

Male

Republican

2018

30A

Forsyth

Laurie Hutchins

White

Female

Republican

2020

30A

Forsyth

Carrie Vickery

White

Female

Democrat

2020

30A

Forsyth

Victoria Roemer

White

Female

Republican

2020

Superior Court Double Bunkings - Option C - Feb 2018

There are 18 African American judges out of 95 total judges, according to Jan. 25 AOC info. There are six African American judges double-bunked in these proposed maps.
This information is based on the North Carolina voter registration database.

At a public hearing in Garysburg, Tom Betts, a supporter of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, echoed the utilities’ promises that the project will bring economic development and jobs to eastern North Carolina. However, privately, local economic developers were concerned those claims were overblown. (Photo: Lisa Sorg)

In a letter to lawmakers today, Kristi Jones, chief of staff for Gov. Roy Cooper, implied that a $57.8 million mitigation fund for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline could be in jeopardy now that lawmakers have reallocated the money from its original purpose.

“It’s unclear if North Carolina will receive these funds, denying businesses and farms in eastern North Carolina access to natural gas and much-needed economic development,” read the letter, addressed to Republicans Sen. Bill Rabon and Rep. David Lewis.

Divided between Duke Energy and Dominion Energy, the money was to be used to offset environmental impacts from the pipeline’s construction, as well as economic development and renewable energy projects in the eight counties along the route: Northampton, Halifax, Nash, Wilson, Johnston, Cumberland, Sampson and Robeson.

But earlier this week, lawmakers passed House Bill 90, hodgepodge legislation that tied a critical class-size provision to the diversion of the mitigation funds to school districts in the affected counties. Gov. Cooper allowed the bill to become law without his signature.

Dominion Energy co-signed a memorandum of agreement with Cooper’s office; the utility could not immediately be reached for comment.

The fund, though, has been controversial among lawmakers and environmental advocates who view it as financial exchange for state approval of a key water quality permit. The fund would have been voluntary and non-binding. And even with financial help, it’s unlikely that industry in eastern North Carolina could afford the millions of dollars to hook onto the pipeline.

Nor are there assurances that the cost of the natural gas would be affordable, an important point since these counties are among the poorest in the state.

In the letter, Jones also explained the origin of the fund. The details confirm what pipeline opponents have been cautioning for the past 18 months: That despite the utilities’ and economic developers’ public claims, there was private concern that the economic prospects of the project was overblown.

It is also unclear, based on Jones’s letter, whether ratepayers or shareholders would cover the cost of the mitigation fund. If ratepayers were to bear the financial burden — in addition to the $5.5 billion cost of the project — that would further undermine the claim that the pipeline would help eastern North Carolina.

Jones wrote that discussions began in 2017 — although she does not say what month — when “eastern North Carolina economic developers and others expressed concerns about whether the pipeline would bring the economic growth it promised.”

Cooper and his administration were also concerned about the pipeline’s ability to revive eastern North Carolina’s economy as well as the environmental impacts to air, water and forests along the route, Jones wrote. She added that the fund was established independent of permit approvals by the NC Department of Environmental Quality.

The fund would have been administered by a third-party selected by the governor, although Jones wrote that Cooper would not decide what projects would be funded. Distribution of the money to environmental and economic projects would have been based on reviews of applications by “qualified government entities and nonprofits.”

Examples of those entities, Jones wrote, were the Rural Infrastructure Authority and the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, both of which currently award grants to similar types of projects. Jones told lawmakers that Cooper would have signed an executive order that would have made the fund subject to Public Records and Open Meetings Laws, as well as the State Ethics Act.